The present invention generally relates to the construction of finely crafted wooden objects, specifically musical instruments and furniture. More particularly, this invention relates to a wood support member or modified kerfing liner, which is utilized as a support surface for joining wood members together, where there is otherwise a small area available for surface contact between the wood members. This invention further relates to a method of manufacturing the kerfing.
Kerfing liner or “kerfing” is the term applied to a strip of wood that is attached, usually with glue, to the inside edge of a wood support structure where a wood face or top member or a wood back or bottom member is attached in full or partial closure of the support structure, typically when the wood support structure is fabricated of relatively thin-walled material. In the usual application, the kerfing will provide additional contact area for providing a gluing surface where a relatively strong bond between the wood members is required. When applied, this strip of wood provides a wider surface to support the face member and/or back member which is attached to the kerfing by glue or other attachment means, which is often necessary. The thickness of the wood members being joined typically range from 0.075 to 0.090 inches. The term kerfing liner is derived from the “kerfs” usually present in the kerfing liner, where the kerf is the void left after a cut of material has been taken with a saw blade, a laser cutting device or other cutting apparatus.
In one common application, kerfing liner is utilized for attaching the front and back members of a musical instrument to the sides of the instrument, such as with a guitar, mandolin, bass, or other stringed instrument utilizing a soundbox defined by side support members, a top member, and a back member. In addition, those skilled in the art of the invention will recognize applications for the modified kerfing liner for other applications, such as furniture or curio construction.
The existing kerfing has limited flexibility, requiring additional time for the artisan to build a musical instrument or other object utilizing the kerfing. For many musical instruments, furniture and other products fashioned from wood, there are many curved surfaces which often have a radius which is too tight to allow the kerfing to bend or conform to the curved surface without breaking. The known kerfing is only flexible along the axis of the kerf which is generally at a right angle to the long axis of the kerfing member. For example, if a luthier is constructing an instrument in which the back of the instrument has an arched configuration, the currently available kerfing will not bend in a manner to accommodate the compound curve—that is, the known kerfing will not have sufficient flexibility along its long axis or dimension, let alone in two axes at once. In order to resolve this problem, the kerfing must be cut into sufficiently small lengths to navigate the curves.
In addition, for those cases where the unkerfed side of the kerfing is attached to the wood member with glue, because of the unbroken “web” of wood on the back of the kerfing, there is copious glue “squeeze-out” (glue that is forced out from under the kerfing being glued under clamping pressure). This glue that has been squeezed out requires time and care to remove after the kerfing has been attached.